HAPPY DAYS Will Open at Bridge Street Theatre This Month

Bridge Street Theatre's production of Samuel Beckett's “Happy Days” begins performances tonight, Thursday, September 3, at 7pm with a special pay-what-you-wanna preview. The production officially opens Friday, September 4, and continues through September 13.

Directed by Matthew Earnest, “Happy Days” stars Berkie Award winner Roxanne Fay as Winnie and Bridge Street Theatre co-founder Steven Patterson as Willie.

Trapped waist-deep—and eventually neck-deep—in the earth, Winnie clings fiercely to ritual, memory, language, and optimism as the world closes in around her. Beckett transforms this unforgettable theatrical image into a hauntingly comic meditation on human vulnerability and resilience.

In his program note, “Indomitable Fragility: The Human Body and Samuel Beckett,” Earnest writes:

“'Happy Days,' like Beckett's 'Endgame' and his revolutionary 'Waiting for Godot,' may look foreign, or avant garde, or even obtuse to the casual subscriber to Netflix and Hulu. But one can imagine its author and his wife viewing the play almost as documentary, a chronicle of their day-to-day lives that for us resonates deeply and reminds us of our vulnerability, yes, but also of our resilience.”

Fay received a Berkie Award from the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association for her performance as Mary Tyrone in Bridge Street Theatre's “Long Day's Journey Into Night.” Her previous appearances at Bridge Street include “Mary Jane,” “Leni,” “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,” and several of her original works.

Patterson has appeared Off- and off-off-Broadway and at theatres across the country. His many Bridge Street roles include Vanya in “Uncle Vanya,” James Tyrone in “Long Day's Journey Into Night,” and August Howe in “The Mound Builders.”

The production features scenic and costume design by William Bezek and lighting design by John Sowle. Timothy Dunn serves as stage manager.

“Happy Days” runs September 3–13 at Bridge Street Theatre, 44 West Bridge Street in Catskill, New York. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. The Thursday, September 3 preview is pay-what-you-wanna.